2018-2019 Bulletin # 9

I am a student of Catholic Faith, a life-long learner, and a well rounded person who is respectful of our world and all of its cultures.

-St.Perpetua's School Wide Learning Expectations (SLE's)

Bulletin # 9

10/3/18

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday at the parish Oktoberfest taking place on the upper lot! This is the main fundraiser for St. Perpetua Parish and there are many ways you can support this effort. There is a raffle and tickets are available at the school office, along with a silent auction. Of course, there will be delicious food and fun games for children of all ages!

Please remember that tomorrow and Friday are noon dismissal days for conferences.

The teachers have been busy preparing for conferences. It is difficult to believe that we have passed the midpoint of the first trimester! Parents in grades 4-8 should check PowerSchool this week (and every week) to monitor your child's grades in preparation for meeting with teachers. These conferences are a vital way to ensure that there is a strong connection between home and school and provide an opportunity for parents and teachers to share students strengths and areas to focus on for improvement.

I am off site today through Friday, attending the annual Administrators Conferencesponsored by the Oakland Diocese School Department. This opportunity enables principals to come together for dedicated time to collaborate and participate in sessions led by our Superintendent and Associate Superintendents.

A SIMPLE MORNING PRAYER FOR PARENTS

Be with me Lord and hold me.
Let me see your presence in all that I encounter this day.

Be with me Lord and protect me. Let me feel the safety of your love.

Be with me Lord and guide me.
Let me understand the wisdom that you have placed in every item of creation.

Be with me Lord and challenge me. Let me struggle with the difficulties of life.

Be with me Lord and comfort me.
Let me know your peace and mercy in every breath I take.

Be with me Lord and hold me.
Let me see your presence in all that I encounter this day.

'Tee-Off Fore Technology' ~ Thank you for making it an awesome fundraiser!

Thank you to our Golf Committee, our golfers, sponsors, parent volunteers and everyone
for making this fundraiser so successful! After expenses, we raised $45,097 for school technology!

New Texting Feature from the School Office

In order to keep up with the methods of communication that most parents are accustomed to using, St. Perpetua will begin using a managed texting system called Pidgins.

In addition to phone and email communications, parents will now be able to send and receive texts. All texts will be sent from/received by our front office.

The texts will come from our main school number 925-284-1640, so if you have that number in your address book you will see us as the message sender.

You can respond and also initiate texts to this number as an alternative to calling or emailing.

Please let Suzanne Kozel know if you have any questions.

Additional Yard Duty Assignments

Parents, now that all families have signed up for their required shifts we have opened up the Sign-Up Genius for you to take on additional yard duty assignments! Each extra shift you work will count as a volunteer hour. Because student safety is paramount, we need to make sure that all shifts are covered. We thank you for your help in taking additional shifts for your volunteer hours.

If your child takes medications (prescription or non-prescription) that need to be kept on campus, you will need to bring the medications (in the original container) as well as the 'Request for medication to be taken during school hours' form on the school website. Please be aware that if the medicine is a prescription, a doctor's signature is also required on the form. If you want your student to carry their epi-pen, you will need to also complete the 'Permission To Carry' form, which also needs a physician's signature.

Did You Know...

Did You Know that our students have answered 44,498 math problems on iXL this year?

Happy Fall! What a wonderful time of the year, and we love to celebrate the season at Cafe` Perpetua! Along with our usual breakfast items we will be featuring all things pumpkin such as pumpkin cake, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie bars and pumpkin breads! Also we will have pesto, zucchini breads, and blackberry and peach crisps.

We hope to see you this Friday at the cafe`, and thank you for supporting your children's Garden of Learning!

Love, Mrs. Meo

Oktoberfest 2018 October 7, 12:30 - 4:30 pm

This year's carnival will be held in the upper lot on the lawn by the Garden of Learning.

Fun games with cool prizes ~ you can win many ways

Great food and drink including popular beer brews to enjoy at the tables by the pavilion

WrokDay will be live again to keep you entertained

Enter the raffle, the more tickets you buy the better your chances to win a 7-day Thanksgiving vacation in Maui

The Silent Auction will have gifts and goods.

New this year...Tiki Toss, Lawn Darts and Yard Pong!

You can also watch the 49ers and Raiders games in the sports lounge.

Bring the whole family, invite neighbors and have a blast!

Per your Family Contract, each school family is required to work one shift or participate in another manner. Tk-only and K-only families are exempt.

Junior High students can sign up for their own shift and earn service hours!

Enjoy drinks & appetizers with friends while getting a head start on holiday shopping from an amazing array of local vendors. We are excited to bring back fabulous vendors as well as bring in new ones you will love. Our variety has something for everyone at all price points!

Thursday & Friday, October 4 & 5: Panther House is open at noon during parent teacher conferences. Bring a lunch!

Monday, October 10: No school; Columbus Day

There are some special Halloween related dates in which to pay attention:

Tuesday, October 30: (3:00 to 4:30)

We will have a monstrously fun afternoon, including special Halloween treats, face-painting, and Halloween games like ghoul eyeball toss and pumpkin bowling. Email me if you would like your child to have their face painted and they will be the first to get theirs done. Children must be on the attendance roster for this day. We will not accept drop-ins on this day.

Wednesday, October 31: Halloween; noon dismissal. Children will be dismissed after the Halloween Parade. Panther House is closed in the afternoon.

JUNIOR HIGH SERVICE HOURS
If your Jr. High Student is looking for service hours, we would welcome them on October 30 to come help decorate faces or run activities. There are 4 spots available on a first come, first served basis.

CHRISTIAN of the WEEK

The students acknowledged last week for their Christ-like behavior in our After School Program are:

Last April we were fortunate to have a wonderful Parent Education Night where Betsy Shandalov led a lesson to help students and parents learn to use mindfulness in their everyday lives. Since that event, I have been integrating mindfulness more often in my own life and in my work with students at St. Perpetua. I am always impressed with how many mindfulness tools truly help students calm and refocus.

When I meet with students in the class setting, we often start with our "Take 5" exercise. The version of "Take 5" in this video is great to help students learn to take breaths more subtly for any reason. Alternatively, in the classroom when I lead "Take 5", I have students raise one arm and take breaths as we slowly count and fold each finger down. (Have your students show you!)

Some of the proven benefits of mindfulness include: improved interpersonal skills, increased attention, decreased stress and anxiety, and strengthened compassion. These benefits lead to long-term improvements in life. I found this webpage very informative.

The more we can all reinforce being mindful (at home, activities and at school), the more students will be able to integrate helpful mindfulness tools throughout their everyday lives.

St. Perpetua will celebrate living a healthy lifestyle during the week ofOctober 22 through October 26, with the theme" Life is a journey: Navigate to Healthy".

We will be encouraging students to make healthy choices. We will focus on nutrition, hydration, fitness, and sleep. Additionally the upper grades will look at experiencing spiritual health, anti-smoking and anti-drug education, and tools for dealing with peer pressure.

Each day of the week we will be focusing on a healthy message. To encourage spirit, there are special activities:

Monday Kick Off: Wear Red

Monday Kick Off Rally at noon. It's a fun way to talk about nutrition!

Thursday: Purchase a Jamba Juice (order info to come next week)

Friday: Wear jeans because "I'm a JEAN-ius... I choose healthy "

All Week, while supplies last: Buy a red rubber bracelet for $2. It's a fundraiser for American Heart Association.

Junior High Students ~ an opportunity for you!

TEAM (Teaching - Encouraging - Affirming - Middle schoolers)

It's not Religion class. It's not public school Faith Formation. It's not Mass. SO WHAT IS IT?? TEAM is a place for ANY 6-8th grader asking questions like: What is my purpose in life? How do I know that God is real? Who are my real friends and am I a good friend to them? Who can I believe and trust? Why should I be part of a Church community? Come learn how to pray while singing at the top of your lungs to music led by teens from Miramonte, Campolindo, Acalanes, De La Salle, and Carondelet High School. Come talk and share with teens and young adults who have been right where you are now. What are you waiting for? Join us!! Link to more info here!

Library News

Our Scholastic Book Faire is coming! This event is a favorite for all of our students.

Friday, October 12 is 'Preview Day' fore each class

Monday, October 15 thru Friday October 19 is the Book Faire in our school library. The library will be open during snack recess and lunch recess for student purchases. Full Book Faire hours and additional details will be coming shortly!

2018 Family Participation Program / Parent Volunteer Hours

St. Perpetua School relies on parents to share their time, talents and treasures. Volunteer participation is necessary as tuition revenue does not cover operating costs of the school. Parent participation ensures the success of social events and school programs as well as nurturing the opportunity make new friendships. Click here for more details.

New families entering school in the fall have a $100 PROFIT requirement for the August-December timeframe of their first year. If you reach a $200 profit level, all profit above that amount results in a school credit for you.

Returning families have a $250 PROFIT requirement. If you reach a $350 profit level, all profit above that amount results in a school credit for you.

Payment for scrip purchases can be made by check (preferred) or credit card. If payment is made by credit card, associated bank service charges will be deducted from your scrip profits.

Families can choose to do a 'buyout' to fulfill their requirement.

We follow a bi-weekly ordering schedule. Here is the order & delivery schedule dates.

We carry four local merchant cards in the office for convenient pick up: Diablo Foods, Lunardi's, Mangia Ristorante, and Cooperage. The full roster of scrip cards (literally hundreds!) can be found on the ShopWithScrip site.

The Benefit Mobile application(www.benefit-mobile.com) lets you purchase e-gift cards for the exact amount of your purchase when at the checkout register. You can set the App up to debit your checking account (a greater profit rebate) or your credit card (a smaller profit rebate).

The Timely Perpetuan is a monthly e-newsletter that keeps you informed about the many things happening at St. Perpetua. If you don't receive it please visit the Parish website and click on "Join Our Mailing List."

Coffee & Donuts are back

Isn't it wonderful to have a delicious cup of coffee and a donut waiting for you at Café Perpetua after the 9:30 Mass? This is only possible thanks to some wonderful and dedicated volunteers. Most of them have done it for many years. In order for this wonderful tradition to continue we need your help. Here is what you'd be doing: pick up donuts at Safeway, set up, make coffee & lemonade and clean up after.

You can do it once a month or less often, whatever your busy schedule allows. Please contact Christoph at the parish office if you're willing to assist.

Special Intentions

We remember those in need of our prayers:

Mary Siebe, grandmother of Owen Smith, as she goes through a lengthy medical treatment

Jim Tschann, grandfather of Charlotte and William, who is recovering from a heart attack and subsequent surgery

Terry Lewis, father of Mrs. Stacey Hinton, who is ill

Alumni parent of St. Perpetua School who is undergoing medical treatment

Eveline Adhiyasa, grandmother of Kyle Jones, who is ill

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